MP3: Tim Kasher – I'm Afraid I'm Gonna Die Here

In my book, no one does depressed love songs quite as good as Tim Kasher, and it’s good see he’s back to familiar territory with his brilliant new single, “I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here”. Not since “Lovers Need Lawyers” has the Good Life / Cursive frontman-gone-solo mixed snappy power-pop with his unique brand of biting  romanticism so well. The song utilizes an infectious, punchy melody with bombastic horns, rapid-fire drumming, and an insistent, almost dance-like bass line to the tell the tale of of yet another love lost.

The lyrics are full of witty references (“like Simon on 7th Avenue, I took some comfort there”) and bitter back-and-forths between himself and an unfaithful lover and closes with Tim writing his own obituarity in one of those brutally honest, self-pitying moments that the singer/songerwriter is known for. The track is available on Tim Kasher’s fantastic new album, The Game of Monagamy (which is in my opinion, his best release since Album of the Year).

MP3 Tim Kasher – I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here

50 Albums of the Decade

(photo by dcdead)

I told myself I wasn’t going to do a decades album list. I mean how can you really rank all your favorite albums over a period of ten years that isn’t even completed yet? Over the last couple of months though, I found myself slowly beginning to compile a list of my albums from the 00’s that I loved and I then I began chiseling the list down to around 50 albums. I guess my love for making lists got in the way of the logic and reasoning I had for not making a list. Also since, I started this blog around the middle of the decade I thought only fair that I share this list to acknowledge those great albums that I wasn’t around to write about or put into a fancy EOY list.

A few words of about this list, firstly, these are my personal favorites of the decade and not the end-all be-all of decade-end lists. I realize that some genres (ahem, hip hop) are being woefully underrepresented because of this. Secondably, I would have liked to do full-scale reviews for each album but life kept getting in the way so instead for each album I’ve linked reviews that I feel capture the spirit of the album (click the album cover to go to there). Scroll all the way down to see some albums that “just missed” and some per-year stats (if you want to know which year is best, it’s between ’02 and ’05). So without any further ado, here’s the top 50 albums of the decade according to me. Feel free to dispute or agree with my choices in the comments. Enjoy!

music for kids who can’t read good presents: 50 Albums Of The Decade

Key track: “Beautiful Dreamer”

Key track: “Two Weeks”

Key track: “Postcards in Italy”

Key track: “Hotel Yorba”

Key track: “Consolation Prizes”

Follow the jump to see the rest!

The Halloween Parties Super Mix Fun Time

This is the post where I put up pictures from various Halloween parties over the last few days that I either attended or hosted and then upload an MP3 to go along with them. Scroll over the pictures for a description. Feel free to comment on which is your favorite costumes and/or put up a link to your own.

MP3 Neil Young – Down By The River
MP3 TV Theme – Walker, Texas Ranger

MP3 Radiohead – Subterranean Homesick Alien

MP3 Midlake – Bandits

MP3 Colour Revolt – Blood in your Mouth

MP3 The Smiths – The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

MP3 The Clash – I Fought The Law

MP3 Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffanys

MP3 The Magnetic Fields – Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits
MP3 Peter Bjorn & John – Poor Cow

MP3 The Good Life – Playing Dumb (<–recommended download)

MP3 Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon

MP3 Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama

MP3 Death Cab for Cutie – Debate Exposes Doubt
MP3 R.E.M. – Nightswimming

MP3 David Bowie – I’m Afraid of Americans

MP3 Elliott Smith – Needle in the Hay

The Good Life have Help Wanted Nights

Although Bright Eyes, Azure Ray, and Cursive have their advantages, my favorite band on the Saddle Creek label has always been The Good Life. The band, which was originally created by Tim Kasher as a place to send the songs that didn’t fit so well with his other band, has already created two masterpiece albums. I’d even go as far to say that Black Out is one of the best albums of the decade. So it’s with great anticipation that I look ahead to The Good Life’s first album in three years, titled Help Wanted Nights, an album which acts as a counterpart to a screenplay that Kasher has written.

Within the last week, Saddle Creek has released a couple new tracks from the album the first being single, “Heartbroke”. The song is unconventionally peppy for the band while lyrically the lines like “It’s never easy but we’ll make it through” and “It’s getting better everyday” are still rooted in depression but are more optimistic than the dark and painful emotion of Album of the Year. At under two minutes the track’s a bit of a throwaway but it’s certainly pleasant while it lasts. The second song “You Don’t Feel Like Home to Me” gives Tim a little more room to explore his emotions, asking “Why can’t you call me home?” The country-tinged song has a definite classic The Good Life feel, but makes me wonder if the band will ever write a raging epic like “Notes In His Pockets” or “Off The Beaten Path” again. Of course, only time will tell.

MP3 Heartbroke
MP3 You Don’t Feel Like Home To Me

The album is set to be released September 11. Pre-order it here.

The Good Life

The first band that I heard from Saddle Creek Records was The Good Life, which is actually a side project of Tim Kasher’s (the lead guitarist and singer from Cursive). I now love most of Saddle Creek’s bands (including Bright Eyes, The Faint, Azure Ray), but I still think The Good Life is my favorite.

The best album from the group is Black Out, it still has a slight folk influence that dominates Album of the Year but it features much more experimental aspects, most notable are the electronic sounds infused in the music. The album reads like a story of someone trying to escape from the world through drinking his problems away, it features a few high points and quite a few depressing low points for the subject.

Here’s a two-song sample:
MP3 Beaten Path
MP3 Off The Beaten Path